beneath the shade of the sakura trees
by Aurora Ciel
Summary: SasuSaku collection. Ratings vary. 11: It's only fair, right? You've proved yourself, you've earned this place. This is where you belong. You decide you don't care where you end up or how your life goes, all you want is to be standing by his side.
1. hello goodbye

**So lately I've been coming up with a few ideas for random drabbles or one-shots but don't want to post them alone since they're so small, so I've decided to create a compilation where I can keep them :)**

**Posts will probably be few and far between, but I'll try to put something up every month at least. Ratings will vary from K+ to M, but the majority will be T so that's how I'm going to mark it.**

**Also, while I have quite a few ideas, I **_**am**_** open to requests. Please remember, however, that this is a Sasuke/Sakura series only. There can be side pairings or love triangles, but I want to keep the main pairing to be SasuSaku.**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I own the Dr. Pepper I'm drinking and the teddy bear I'm cuddling. And that is all.**

**title: **hello goodbye  
**characters: **SasuSaku, ensemble  
**rating: **T  
**category:** romance, AU

* * *

**beneath the shade of the sakura trees  
**_even the best fall down sometimes,  
even the wrong words seem to rhyme.  
out of the doubt that fills your mind,  
you finally find,  
__you and i collide._

* * *

"Can you believe we're going to be in high school this year! It feels like just yesterday we were playing together in Kindergarten!"

"If by playing, you mean you pushing me into the dirt and teasing me, then yes, I know exactly what you mean," a pink haired teenage girl comments, not looking up from her new schedule as her best friend rushes to keep pace with her.

"Ne, Sakura-chan, can you at least just _pretend_ to enjoy our first day of high school with me for like, a second?" Ino frowns, grabbing Sakura's elbow.

"Fine," she snaps and finally looks up from the schedule. "Wow, isn't it just swell," she comments blandly, sweeping her arms out for _dramatic effect_.

Ino narrows her eyes, "Oh never mind you're such a goodie two-shoes. I bet you already know where all your classes are and the sensei's names."

"Don't make fun of me for being well prepared," Sakura replies, jerking her elbow out of her friend's grasp so she can continue down the hall. "I just want to get my bearings, you know how much I hate surprises—oof!"

Somehow she managed to collide with a brick wall because now she's sitting in the middle of the hallway with her hands sprawled, her books everywhere, and her knees up and open so that everyone can see her bright blue panties. Quickly snapping her legs closed and pulling her plaid skirt down over her thighs, Sakura scrambles to pick up her things before she looks up to see what she collided with.

"Hn. Walk much?"

Glancing up, she sees that it wasn't a brick wall, but actually the firm body of a boy. He stares down at her coolly, his dark eyes looking at her bored and impatient.

"Uh…sorry!" she stammers before finally standing up. "I got a little distracted I guess," she shoots an angry look Ino's way, but the blonde is too busy staring at the dark haired mystery boy with googily eyes.

She frowns at her friend before turning back to the boy, "Anyway, sorry for bumping into you. I'm Sakura!"

His eyes shift to Ino for a moment before turning back to her. She can practically feel his eyes shift down her body and then back up. By the time his onyx eyes reach hers once more, she's sure her face is the color of a tomato.

"Good for you."

Sakura's jaw drops as he walks past them, hands in his pockets, ignoring the hordes of girls staring off at him. After a moment, she clears her head and turns back to Ino, snapping her fingers in the girl's face.

"Oi! Pig! Snap out of it!"

"What? Oh…jeez, who was that?"

"I have no idea," Sakura frowns again, "but I already know I don't like him."

* * *

"Who was _that_?"

"Who?"

"That girl! The pink haired one!"

"Tch. Shut up, dobe."

"Argh, _teme!_ Stop being such an ass and talk to me, or I'm gonna go find Kiba and hang out with him between classes instead," Naruto threatens, crossing his arms and pouting.

Sasuke rolls his eyes, glancing back at where the girl had been standing only to find she's already gone. "Her name's Sakura. She's annoying."

"Really?" Naruto cranes his neck to try to find the girl in the crowded hallway. "I think she's cute!"

"Hn. Whatever."

* * *

"Alright, class, we're going to select topics for our history projects. Everyone pair up and decide what you want your topic to be."

"Ne, Sasuke-kun, I'll be your partner!"

"No way, he said I could do it!"

"I'm way smarter than those _skanks_, Sasuke-kun!"

"Oi, find your own boyfriend, he's mine!"

"Hey, where's he going?!"

The girls all turn to watch as the Uchiha wordlessly makes his way over to a desk up front where the resident pink haired bookworm is quietly reading her textbook. Their jaws drop as they all hear his deep voice, "Be my partner?"

"Hm?" Sakura blinks in her seat, looking up at him slightly dazed. Her emerald eyes flicker back to the group of girls hanging on their every word before nodding up at him. "Oh, yeah sure."

The other girls whine and stamp their feet, pouting that now they have no one left to work with. Naruto stands on top of a desk, thrusting his text book into the air and puffs out his chest. "Don't worry, ladies! Naruto is still available to be someone's partner!"

"Get lost, Naruto…"

* * *

"Alright, I think we're finished!" Sakura happily announces, hitting _print_ on her computer and grinning as the paper begins to feed through the printer. "This report actually turned out a lot better than I was expecting."

"Aa."

She turns over to Sasuke and beams at him, "We make a pretty good team, don't we?"

"Whatever."

"I think we're going to get an A, don't you?"

"Hn."

"Well jeez aren't you Mr. Talkative…"

Sasuke frowns, leaning over to her. His closeness makes her tense up and she feels frozen to her seat as his face gets even closer to her. Her throat dries up, swallowing is suddenly an impossible task to complete.

"Sakura," he says huskily. "You're different from those other girls."

She can't tell if he's asking her or telling her, but she decides to answer anyway, hoping to ease some of her nerves. "W-Well, I just don't like the way they treat you, like you're a piece of meat or a prize or something. You're a person, a really smart, interesting one at that. You're hard working, and trustworthy, and you're actually nice when you want to be and I just—mmph!"

His dry lips press to hers lightly and she feels like she's going to pass out. Does he realize what he's doing? With her?

Well, obviously he does, he _picked_ her to be his partner, he _kissed_ her…scratch that he's still kissing her! But before she even gets the chance to respond, he pulls away, his eyes downcast.

"Sasuke, I—"

"I'm sorry," he interrupts, scowling and balling his fists. "I thought that's what you wanted."

"What? No, I just—Sasuke, wait!"

But he's already up and out the door, making his way down her driveway to her car. By the time she can catch up to him on the driveway, he's already speeding away.

Stunned, Sakura presses her fingers to her lips. She can still feel his warm ones against them.

_I've just never been kissed before…_

* * *

"Oi, teme, have you seen Sakura-chan yet? She's even prettier than she was last year!"

"Shut up, dobe."

"Whatever happened between you two? I thought you liked her—"

"I said _shut up_," Sasuke snaps suddenly, whirling around to face Naruto. "Nothing happened with us. She didn't want anything to."

Naruto's face fell, "Sasuke, I…you never told me that."

"Stop being such a girl."

* * *

"You know who's looking _fine_ this year? Uchiha Sasuke," Ino announces, linking her arm through her best friend's.

Sakura rolls her eyes. "Oh give it up, Ino-pig, he hasn't talked to me since the beginning of the school year last year."

"Ah, The Kiss. How could we forget?" Tenten teases, leaning in towards her friends. Ino giggles with her while Sakura frowns.

"I feel horrible about that, you guys! It completely ruined my relationship with Sasuke…"

"Oh really?" Ino smirks, arching an eyebrow. "What kind of relationship?"

Sakura smacks her with her notebooks as her face heats up and Tenten laughs. "Oh you know what I mean! He won't even _look_ at me anymore…"

"You know, Sakura-chan, if I didn't know any better, I'd say it sounds almost like you _want_ him to look at you," Tenten suggests.

She frowns, glancing over to where the dark haired male is sitting with a group of friends. "Well…I don't know. I mean, sure he's good looking, but there's more to it. When we really got to know each other he was such a great guy."

"So go for him!" Ino urges, pushing her friend in the Uchiha's direction.

"What? But I…"

"Hey there, Sakura-chan!"

Sakura's head snaps forward as she sees a gleeful Naruto waving at her. He's sitting next to Sasuke on a bench, practically shoving the Uchiha out of his way. She glances back at her friends before shyly making her way over to them.

"H-Hey guys, how was your break?"

"Awesome!" Naruto bellows, shoving past a protesting Kiba so he can walk over to her. "I worked out a lot, if you can't tell." He makes a show of flexing his arm muscles and she makes a face.

"Uh…yeah…"

Someone snorts behind them and Sakura moves to see that Sasuke has a slight smirk on his face even though his eyes are still on the book he's reading. She can't help but smile at the thought that she made him laugh.

"What were you up to, Sasuke?"

Sasuke looks up at her and she gets lost in his dark, endless night sky eyes. Before he can answer a shrilly "Sasuke-kun!" is heard from across the quad. They all turn to see a new girl dressed in their school uniform making her way over to them. She has red hair and glasses, her boots are thigh high and Sakura is sure that they're against school policy.

"I met Karin," Sasuke says, allowing the redhead to drape herself all over him and press kisses to his neck. "Karin, this is Sakura."

"I'm his girlfriend," Karin assures. Sakura recognizes the look in the girl's eyes, that wasn't an explanation, it was a warning.

She's speechless for a moment before nodding and smiling down at them, watching as Karin practically sits in Sasuke's lap even though there's plenty of room on the bench they're sitting on. "Oh, well that's great. I worked at the hospital, I want to become a doctor."

"I remember," Sasuke says quietly, for the first time pushing Karin away from him. "A surgeon, right?"

Sakura flushes, "Yeah. Actually, I was just—"

"Ugh, _boring!_" Karin interrupts, flicking her hair past her shoulder. "Sasuke-kun, since I'm new here, why don't you show me around? I'd love to see all the dark, secret corners this school has…"

And with that, Sasuke smirks at her before leading her away, leaving Sakura alone with Naruto. She frowns, hugging her books to her chest. "Nice talking to you too…"

* * *

Sakura's walking by herself after school one day, carrying a box of old beakers to her car. The school lets her use their old equipment as long as she's willing to take it all by herself. She frowns at the glassware in her arms, it's heavier than she was expecting.

She trips in the hallway and luckily none of the beakers break. One of them skitters across the tiled floors and in front of the foot of a boy a year older than her. He picks it up, tossing it in his hand before making his way over to her.

"Lose something, sweetheart?"

On her hands and knees, Sakura looks up to see three older boys standing around her. She gulps, suddenly feeling very afraid. She tells herself to remain calm before slowly moving back to sit on her heels.

"Um, yeah, I dropped that, thanks."

The boy holds it just out of her reach, "How are you going to pay me for it?"

Her face flushes and her heart is pounding. "W-What?"

"I said," he leers, smirking wickedly at her, "How are you going to pay me for it?"

"She's already on her knees," another boy jokes, pushing his friends. "She's ready in position!"

"Have you done this before, pinky?"

"What, no I just—"

"I think she wants to!"

"Are you a slut? Do you like giving men—"

One of the boys is shoved onto the floor. "_What the hell is going on here?_"

Sakura, shocked and relieved, looks up to see Sasuke standing in front of her with his arms crossed. He may be a year younger than the guys, but he's several inches taller than they are. They look at each other before turning back to him.

"N-Nothing," the first one insists. "We were just messing with her…"

"Stay the fuck away from her," Sasuke growls, yanking the beaker from his hands. They nod hastily before getting away as quickly as possible. Once they're gone, he turns to her, kneeling down next to her.

"You okay?"

Shakily, she nods and takes the beaker from him. "Y-Yeah…they didn't do anything. I think they just liked making me nervous. I don't think they were actually going to…"

He frowns at her before picking up the box. "You never can be sure. What are you doing here anyway?"

Sakura stands up and walks next to him, allowing him to lead her out of the school. "I like experimenting with chemicals and stuff. The school lets me use their old equipment when they need to get rid of it."

"Hn."

"Sasuke?"

He's silent, but his eyes flicker at her so she knows he's listening.

"Thanks."

* * *

"Thank Kami, our final year!" Naruto cheers as they walk into school, their last first day of high school. "It's sure gone by fast!"

"Hn."

"Hey, whatever happened to Karin? I haven't seen her in weeks," Kiba asks, his hands tucked behind his head.

"The bastard broke up with her," Naruto answers, knowing his best friend won't bother to. "She was so damn annoying and screechy! And she wasn't nearly as pretty as Sak—"

"Wait a minute, you're back on Sakura now?" Kiba teases, grinning wolfishly at the scowling Uchiha.

"Yep! This year's the year! Teme's going to sweep her off her feet and they're gonna live happily ever after!"

"Well, you're in for some tough competition," Shikamaru comments. The boys all turn to their usually quiet friend, eager for more information. "Ino told me she started dating this older guy at the beginning of the summer. It's pretty serious."

"Older? How much older?"

"He's a college student. Ino thinks Sakura's going to go away to school with him next year."

Naruto eyes him, "How do you know all this?"

"Pillow talk, eh Shikamaru?" Kiba carries on, elbowing their friend. He scowls at them, shrugging off the two obnoxious friends of their group.

"All I'm saying is, Sasuke's going to have to work if he wants Sakura this year."

"Tch. Whatever. I don't want her. She can have her college boyfriend for all I care."

* * *

"He said _WHAT_?!"

Ino, Tenten and Hinata sit around their friend's bed, listening to her half-hearted sniffles and hiccups.

"He said he didn't know if I was _mature_ enough to be in a relationship with him," Sakura mumbles, her voice muffled by the pillow covering her head.

"Just because you said you wanted to wait to have sex with him?" Tenten asks.

"He's only a year older than us!" Ino shouts, slamming her fist into her palm. "I swear, if I ever see that boy again, I'm going to castrate him with a rusty knife! And then I'll grab some superglue and glue it to his—"

"Ino-chan!" Hinata squeaks, her face growing redder every second.

Tenten frowns at her friends before turning back to the crying girl in front of them, "Well, Sakura-chan, why _do_ you want to wait?"

"It's not that I'm against sex before marriage or anything," Sakura sniffles, lifting her head from under the pillow. "I just…it wasn't the right timing."

"Right timing?" Ino repeats, a sly smile slowly growing on her face. "Or the right guy?"

Sakura's scowls as her friends laugh. She pulls the pillow back on top of her head. "Oh whatever! It's not like it matters anyway, he's dating that Karin bitch!"

"I don't know, Forehead," Ino starts, lying down next to the girl. "From what I heard, they've been on the rocks all summer."

She's silent for a moment before sniffling again, "Well it's not like he'd be interested in me anyway. Face it guys, nothing will ever happen between me and Uchiha Sasuke…"

* * *

"Congratulations graduates! And now for some closing words from our class valedictorian, Haruno Sakura."

Sakura smiles as the crowd cheers and applauds her. She waves nervously as she approaches the podium, clutching at her index cards.

"First of all, I'd like to say congratulations you guys! I'm so proud of all of us. It's been three amazing years…"

Her eyes drift over the crowd of students, some look excited, some are crying, some look bored. One of them is staring up at her with eyes that take her breath away. She continues talking but can't seem to look away from him.

She clears her throat nervously, "I-I can remember my very first day here. I was actually so excited, I walked into a guy…"

The crowd laughs and she can't help but look over at Sasuke. There's something in his eyes, she doesn't know what it is, but she recognizes it. She sees it every time he looks at her.

* * *

Much to Sasuke's _luck_, Naruto is right behind him alphabetically, and therefore, seated right next to him. The blonde coughs obnoxiously when Sakura describes how they first met. He has to clench his fists in order not to strangle him.

His attention goes back to Sakura's speech. Kami, she looks beautiful. Even more beautiful than the first day she ran into him.

"Today is a day for us to remember for all time. Not because we're finally graduating and moving on to college, but because this is the beginning of the rest of our lives. Today is the day we get to say, here I am world! Ready or not."

Her emerald eyes flash over to his and he can feel the pull between them. Why he never did anything about it in the three years he's known her, he has no idea. He can tell she's affected by the way he's looking at her; she keeps stuttering whenever they make eye contact.

"This is the time for us to become the people we were destined to be. Now is when we get to make our own choices, learn for ourselves, and do that one thing we've always wanted to. There is no better chance than now."

As if she's speaking to only him, Sasuke feels a different meaning to her words. Intentional or not, he can't not react to them now. Like she said, there's no better time than now. Standing up, he pushes past rows of knees, ignoring Naruto's questions as he makes his way into the aisle. People beside and behind him have begun to whisper and point, but he pays them no attention. Sakura continues giving her speech but by now she's spotted him and is blatantly staring at him.

He finally makes it up to the stage and everyone gasps as he leaps up onto it. Sakura's stopped talking, instead choosing to stare at him with her mouth open. Just like she did the first day they met. He can't help but smirk.

"S-Sasuke," she starts. She's standing close enough to the microphone that everyone can hear her. "What are you doing?"

Sasuke doesn't stop walking, making sure she's looking into his eyes when he speaks, "What I should have done three years ago."

Before she can react, he wraps his arms around her and presses his lips to hers. She squeaks, her face flushing before she too, wraps her arms around his shoulders. This isn't anything like the first time he tried to kiss her. That was unsure and hesitant. This time he knows what he's doing, why he's doing it, and why he wants to do it with this girl for the rest of his life.

Sakura hums quietly before returning the pressure of her lips, kissing him with all she has. They break away after the crows starts to cheer wildly and instead press their foreheads together. She grins up at him, nuzzling his nose with her own.

"Really, Sasuke. What took you so long?"

* * *

**Ahh I'm terrible. I can't write drabbles for the life of me (**_**God**_** no) and all my one-shots are always so long! But this story had a specific plot I needed to get out and some reason my mind decided it would take NINE pages to do so. I apologize for the length, hopefully my others won't be so bad…**

**And don't worry, I haven't abandoned Luck of the Draw! I'm just working through the next chapter and I wanted a little break.**

**Reviews would be wonderful!**


	2. beautiful disaster

**title: **beautiful disaster  
**characters: **SasuSaku, Tsunade  
**rating: **T  
**category: **angst

* * *

They're sitting together in the examination room, neither one speaking. The tension grows thicker with each passing silent moment.

Finally, Sakura breaks the silence. "Are you scared?"

Beside her, Sasuke tenses. "Sakura…"

"I'm scared," she whispers, her voice is raspy from crying so much.

Her husband turns to her, gripping her small hands between his. "Sakura, I know I've never been good at…communicating with you, but I want you to know, whatever happens, nothing is going to change for us."

She sniffles, bleary eyes searching his for even a hint of truth. She finds more than a hint and smiles weakly at him. "It's just…we've been trying for nearly a year and I've never even thought _once_ that I might be…"

"Don't worry until we know for sure."

"And what happens if we do know for sure? I…I understand if you want to end this."

"Sakura, don't say things like that." He scowls at her, rubbing her soft palms with his rough, calloused fingers.

Tears begin to slide down her cheeks again but she doesn't bother to dry them. "But your clan, your family…"

"_You _are my family now. You, Naruto, Kakashi."

"Sasuke-kun…" She leans closer to him, tucking her wet face into his neck and breathing in his warmth. Sasuke's arm comes around her and hugs her close.

There's a quiet knock on the door and Tsunade slowly walks in. The pair says nothing as they look up at her, neither one wanting to bother with pleasantries.

The Godaime holds a manila folder in her hands but she keeps it closed as she approaches them. Her face is clear of emotion but Sakura can see through the wall built and knows what's going to come next.

"Sakura-chan, I'm so sorry."

That's all she needs to hear as Sakura bursts into a fresh set of tears, turning into Sasuke and clinging to him. Her fingers clutch at his shirt, scrabbling for any sense of security. From above his wife's head, Sasuke looks up at the Hokage.

"You're absolutely sure?"

Tsunade nods, "Sakura is infertile."

* * *

**I know it's angsty, but this plot has always been in the back of my mind and I wanted to see where it would go.**


	3. in my head

**title: **in my head  
**characters: **SasuSaku, ensemble  
**rating: **M  
**category: **smut smut smut

**Something a little lighter after my last one. Yes I know the whole "oh Rookie 9 goes clubbing" thing is really (really really **_**really**_**) cliché, but…shut up.**

* * *

The music is thumping so loud he can practically feel it in his veins. Lights flash everywhere and he frowns, someone could have a seizure from the speed these lights are moving. The club smells like sweat and alcohol, but apparently he's the only one who's noticed.

"Bastard!"

Several people's heads turn but he pays them no attention as he makes his way to the table the voice came from. He would know that voice—and nickname—anywhere. The majority of Rookie 9 is at a table, each of them cradling a drink or two. He accepts a beer from Naruto and barely acknowledges the others.

"Took you long enough!" the blonde insists before knocking back a shot of tequila.

"I had a debriefing before I could get here, dobe," he mutters. A group of girls bump into him and flutter their eyelashes at him but he just scowls at them before turning to the clump of people dancing.

Or rather, rubbing against each other.

Suddenly a pair of females squeal from the center, drawing his attention and he is shocked at what he sees.

Ino is in the middle of the cluster, her back pressed into some guy as they grind against each other. His hands snake around her hips, one of hers clutches at his while the other is wrapped behind his neck.

But that's not what surprises him. Yamanaka Ino has always been a party girl. She and Shikamaru are in an "off" stage of their on-again-off-again messed up relationship, so of course she's off with the first guy she can find.

What surprises him is who is dancing next to the tall blonde.

Wearing a tight-fitting, thigh-high black dress, is his pink-haired former teammate, dancing with some guy he's never seen before. Her shoulders are bare and the guy has no problem covering them with his lips.

Sasuke frowns, what does this guy think he's doing?

He watches as Sakura grinds her ass into the guy's crotch. He's practically groping her but she doesn't seem to mind at all. Her eyes are closed as her head bobs to the beat of the music, her arms twirling above her luscious pink hair.

His fingers grip the bottle in his hands until it shatters. Several people gasp and Neji mentions something about grabbing some napkins, but Sasuke pays them no attention. For some reason he can't keep his eyes off of his former teammate.

Didn't she tell him she would always love _him_? Didn't she say she would do anything for _him_?

Sure, that was ten years ago, but still, if she meant it then shouldn't she mean it now?

Sasuke's dark eyes narrow. There's no way in hell he's going to let any guy touch Sakura like that. In the back of his mind he hears Naruto asking him where he's going but he doesn't even bother to reply. Isn't it obvious?

He weaves through the crowd, ignoring the pulls on his shirt from various women. It's hot from all the bodies and by the time he gets over to her sweat is beginning to gather at the back of his neck.

At first Sakura doesn't seem to notice him. She opens her eyes and does a double take at the sight of him standing before her. His eyes say everything his mouth can't and the guy dancing with her seems to get the same message. He tightens his grip on her waist but Sakura frowns.

"Sasuke, what are you—"

"Sakura," he interrupts, his voice deep but making it to her over the volume of the music. "Ditch this idiot."

She blinks up at him in surprise, glancing back at the guy and tucking a lock of sweaty pink hair behind her ear. Ino nods at her, raising her eyebrows in their weird Girl Code.

"Dance with me."

Sakura shrugs at the guy behind her and steps away from him. The guy snarls and starts after her but stops dead in his tracks at the look on Sasuke's face. He looks back at Sakura, who's staring up at Sasuke now, before finally retreating back into the crowd.

For a moment they just stand there, staring at each other, before Sakura raises an eyebrow in challenge as if saying _well get on with it_. He steps towards her, pulling her towards him by her hips, before settling her back against his chest.

They dance together like this for the first few songs but Sasuke decides he doesn't like dancing this way. He's never done it before but he can already tell he'd prefer to look at Sakura's face. He spins her out and pulls her back into his body, sliding a steely thigh between hers and bringing his hands low on her waist.

Flushed with surprise, Sakura hesitantly rests her hands around his neck, her fingers playing with the damp hairs at the base of his head. Their eyes look into each other's the entire time as they pump their hips together in rhythm to the music. Soon there isn't a single place between them where their bodies aren't touching.

She's saying something but he can't hear her and before he knows it his head is bent to hers and her hot tongue is inside his mouth, tangling with his own. He groans and pulls her closer, rubbing her heat against his growing hardness as they continue to move together. Her soft breasts press into his chest and it takes all of his control not to grab them in public.

Now they're back at his apartment, in his bedroom. The air is much cooler here and all is quiet. They stare at each other in silence for a moment before surging together once more. He climbs on top of her on his bed, noticing for the first time how her light hair contrasts with his dark sheets. It actually is a nice sight, one he wouldn't mind seeing there more often.

But then Sakura's toned legs wrap around his waist and all train of thought is lost.

Hands tug and rip at fabric, desperate to touch heated skin. Sakura cries out when he bites down on her neck, sucking hard for a minute before letting his tongue soothe the damage. She whimpers at the way his knee is pressing into the warm place between her thighs, pressing herself closer to him as she searches for release.

When his mouth closes on her stiff nipple, she tugs at his hair, sending a jolt right down to his groin. He groans, lightly nipping at her soft skin before continuing his assault on her body.

Their clothes fly all over the place as their limbs tangle together. Bare skin slaps together and their sweat makes them stick together everywhere. Neither one seems to mind as he finally pushes inside of her, her wet heat gripping him like a vice.

They groan simultaneously at the contact before he begins pumping into her with all he has. Her hand is tugging at his hair, pulling his head back up to hers so their tongues can meet once more. They roll once so she's on top. Sakura sits up, balancing herself on his chest as she begins to move herself up and down.

He's close. They both are. Hands grip everywhere and nails scratch as he rolls them once more. Their heated bodies are tangled up in his sheets now but that's the last thing on his mind. One particular thrust sends her flying high as she arches her back and calls out his name.

"Sasuke!"

"_Sasuke!"_

"_Oi! Bastard!"_

"_Sasuke? Hello?"_

He shakes his head, looking up to see Naruto, Shikamaru and Neji staring at him with their eyebrows raised. Neji smirks condescendingly and mentions something about Uchiha not being able to hold their liquor.

"Sasuke-teme, did you hear me? I asked if you were alright!" Naruto shouts over the blasting music.

"What are you talking about?"

The blonde smiles suggestively, "You've been staring at Sakura-chan for the past ten minutes."

Sasuke looks over to where Naruto is pointing and sees Sakura once more with that guy she'd been rubbing her ass on before. Wait a minute. Does that mean…?

He frowns at the sight of the same tight black dress, her curled pink hair, her hands twirling in the air. Ino cheers and whispers something in Sakura's ear and she laughs and nods. Nothing has changed.

"Stuck in another emo-boy fantasy?" Naruto teases, elbowing him.

Sakura looks over at them with a flirty smile on her face. Her eyes flash as they meet his and his jaw clenches.

She knows.

* * *

**Cliché cliché cliché.**

**Whatever. I couldn't get this out of my head (hah). And I like the song.**


	4. wonderwall

**title: **wonderwal  
**characters: **Ino POV, SasuSaku  
**rating: **K+  
**category: **romance

**I visited my friend for the weekend and sadly her campus wireless wouldn't work for my computer (FML), so I decided to at least do something useful with myself while she was in class and this is what came out!**

**Disclaimer: I own the characters, plot and artwork of Naruto. I am also Santa Clause and I live in the White House. Sadly, none of these statements are true.**

* * *

She doesn't understand it.

She's been reading romance novels since she was young and watching chick-flicks since she was even younger.

In all her twenty years of life, Ino Yamanaka has never seen a relationship quite like Sasuke and Sakura's.

* * *

_He doesn't get angry when men try to hit on her._

She watches, one day at the market, as the couple picks some fresh fruit and vegetables for their basket. Notices the way Sakura lingers at the tomato stand and only picks the plumpest, reddest, juiciest ones.

A group of new Jounin are feeling particularly confident due to their recent status upgrade, and decide to test out their luck on the _(poor, unfortunate)_ female population of Konoha. Their eyes land on Sakura—one of the most famous, attractive kunoichi in the entire village—and the target has been selected.

Ino rolls her eyes, those boys know enough to know who Sakura is and to pick up on her beauty, but clearly they don't know enough not to try to mess with her when her boyfriend is around.

One of them makes a pass at her, commenting on how pretty she looks today. She smiles politely and nods in thanks before quickly moving away. Another _bumps_ into her and kindly offers to help her pick up her fallen items, making sure his fingers brush against her arm longer than necessary.

One by one, each of them take a turn. Sakura politely ignores them, which doesn't really surprise Ino.

Bracing herself, she turns to look at Sasuke's expression. She's expecting to see silent rage, badly concealed jealousy, at least some kind of irritation on his face.

Instead he calmly makes his way over to Sakura, speaks softly to her with his hand pressed gently at the small of her back. She grins up at him and nods before they pay the vendor and leave the market.

Ino blinks in disbelief as she watches them head up the street and around the corner. She frowns, aren't boyfriends supposed to lose it when they see a horde of males flirting with their woman?! He could have at least given some display of his glorious manhood in her defense! He didn't even seem annoyed!

Her arms cross and she shakes her head. Clearly something is wrong here.

* * *

_He's too hard on her during training._

A week later Ino sees them together on the training grounds. She masks her chakra and watches from behind a tree.

Both are covered in streaks of dirt and trails of sweat. Sakura's short pink locks curl at the ends and stick to the back of her neck. There isn't a bit of make up on her face, her hair is messy and windblown, and her clothes are torn and dirty.

And yet, Ino decides, Sakura never looks more beautiful than when she's in battle. Her eyes turn a fierce shade of emerald, her skin glows, and she moves with cat-like grace and agility.

Sasuke—donned in only a pair of simple black ninja pants and his arm guards—doesn't look half bad either, the blonde can't help but think.

They move towards each other, almost in a dance as their arms swing and their legs move. He lands a hard blow on her ribs and she retaliates with a swift kick to the stomach. While she may be stronger than he is with that inhuman strength of hers, he's faster. They're perfectly balanced out as they continue to battle.

Ino watches as Sasuke sweeps his legs low behind Sakura's knees, knocking her onto her backside. Dirt and grass flies up around her from her harsh landing on the ground and it takes a few seconds before Sakura can get up. She's barely lifted her torso off the ground when Sasuke delivers a forceful backhanded smack across her face.

Sakura groans in frustration as he continues to push her against the ground before she finally punches the dirt below her, causing a crevice to break through. Sasuke leaps away from the shifting terrain below him but before he can land Sakura has grabbed him by the ankle and throws him into a tree.

The wind seems to have been knocked out of him after that one, but after taking a moment to catch his breath Sasuke just smirks at her and chases her into the trees.

They disappear from her vision and Ino bites her lip. Shouldn't he at least go a little easier on her since she's his girlfriend?

* * *

_He doesn't comfort her when she's sad._

Some time later Ino is standing behind Sakura, dressed in all black. Sakura's parents died when their house caught fire a few days ago. Being an only child, they were the only blood family she had left.

When the ceremony is over, everyone pays their respects to Sakura, wishing her well and hoping for her to find peace. Naruto hugs her for a long time, telling her he's always going to be there for her and to come find him whenever she wants some ramen, his treat.

She sees Sakura turn to Sasuke and ask if they can get out of there, so she decides she'll speak with her friend later. Instead of heading back into town, follows them as they walk to the Uchiha grounds. She's stunned to see that Sasuke has led her to his family's burial site.

Sakura breaks down and clings to him. He says nothing, staring at the headstones of his mother and father as he holds her against his chest.

This doesn't sit right with Ino. Isn't it a little insensitive of him to bring her here after all she's been through?

* * *

_He doesn't talk with her._

They're walking down the street one warm spring day when Ino sees them from inside her family's flower shop. They don't notice her but she doesn't mind, content to continue watching and pondering their relationship.

Sakura's telling a story, judging by the varying expressions on her face and the way she's moving her hands around her. She has a big grin on her face and occasionally looks to Sasuke during parts of her story. His hands are in tucked in his pockets, his head bowed down as she speaks. He nods occasionally but other than that, doesn't even appear to be listening to her.

He does nothing when she leans in and wraps her arms around his arm, hugging it close. Her head rests on his shoulder for a minute before she lifts it back up again. All Sasuke does is glance down at her for a moment.

By the time they're out of her line of sight, Ino is disappointed. Sure Forehead can talk like no other, but couldn't Sasuke at least be a bit more communicative with her?

* * *

When Sakura shows her her new diamond ring, Ino can't help but feel uneasy about the whole thing. Sure they've been dating for nearly two years and it's not like they're getting any younger, but is Sakura sure this is what she wants? She doesn't seem to be getting anything out of the relationship.

When she admits her doubts to her friend, Sakura smiles at her in an almost pitying way, as if she feels bad for Ino for not understanding. They're sitting on a park bench, admiring the blooming sakura trees while they watch passersby. It's the perfect kind of day, and yet Ino can't help but feel it's been ruined by this next stage in their relationship.

Calmly, almost as if she'd heard it before, Sakura explains to her that her love for Sasuke isn't based on how powerful he gets or how wealthy he is, even the things he does for her. She's known from the beginning that their relationship would take work, but they say if you do something you love then you'll never work a day in your life, right?

And besides, she says before standing up, that's not the way Sasuke loves her, either.

Sitting alone, Ino is given the chance to ponder just what her best friend meant. She thinks back to all the little windows into their relationship she's been privy to and suddenly is hit with an epiphany.

Sasuke doesn't get jealous of other guys hitting on Sakura because he trusts her to be faithful to him and respects her enough to defend herself.

Sasuke doesn't hold back on Sakura when they're training because he sees her as an equal, a worthy opponent whom he _can't_ hold back on.

Sasuke didn't show Sakura his family's graves to burden her with more pain, but to show her in his own way that he was there for her.

Sasuke doesn't talk a lot because he knows Sakura needs someone to tell her stories to, and he needs someone to tell their stories to him.

And finally she realizes that Sasuke's love is not about the gestures he makes for Sakura, but the walls he takes down for her. And only her.

* * *

**Just a cute snippet into what I hope is a more in-character version of what could be a possible future relationship for Sasuke and Sakura. Plus I like the idea of their love being misunderstood by the rest of the world.**

**Make my day and click on that review button!**


	5. teenage alien nation

**title: **teenage alien nation  
**characters: **SasuSaku, Uchiha fam! (Itachi POV)  
**rating: **T  
**category: **fluff  
**warnings: **non-massacre AU, Sasuke is probably OOC but who knows how he would be with his parents around…

**disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, this would **_**totally**_** happen instead of that lame **_**revenge!/angst!/anger!/war!/lack of any romance whatsoever!**_** stuff…**

* * *

The room is uncomfortably tense, Itachi can't help but notice as he brings tea into the room for everyone. The tray remains untouched, no one in the room is willing to break the tension first.

He looks over to their parents—their mother looks worriedly at her youngest while their father stares impassively in front of him.

The couple across from them aren't that different. Sakura is biting her lip and twisting her fingers in her lap while Sasuke's arms are crossed and his usual scowl is on his face.

Finally it's their mother who ends the silence.

"So, Sakura-chan," she begins quietly, pouring a cup of tea for the girl across from her, "how far along are you, exactly?"

Sakura smiles tentatively as she accepts the cup, using both hands to steady the cup as it shakes in her grasp. She glances over at Sasuke once before looking up at their mother. "Um, Tsunade-shishou said nearly five weeks."

"Five weeks?" their father barks out before turning to Sasuke, "You were on that mission in Sand five weeks ago, weren't you?"

Sakura's face flushes and she tucks a lock of hair behind her ear, glancing at Sasuke quickly before answering for her boyfriend, "Yes, the whole team was, Fugaku-san."

Fugaku frowns, straightening up in his chair. Itachi notices his younger brother's hands clench at the movement and feels himself tense up at the action as well.

"You two have been dating for how long?"

"Nearly a year now," Sakura answers quietly, clearly speaking on behalf of the both of them now.

"I thought you were smarter than this, Sasuke. Didn't we talk about using protection when you were—"

"Yes," Sasuke interrupts and Itachi is a little surprised. Normally they never interrupt their father when he's like this. "And we _were_ being safe, but it happened anyway and there's nothing we can do about now."

"Well, what do you plan on doing about your situation?" Sakura flinches and Itachi doesn't blame her, she probably doesn't appreciate being referred to as a "situation."

"Tch. We're getting married."

"You are?" Mikoto asks.

"Not yet," Sakura assures, setting her untouched tea down. She smiles over at Sasuke and takes his hand, holding it in her lap. "I mean, we're only sixteen. We always planned on getting married, we'll just do it in a few years, that's all."

"So you're going to raise this child out of wedlock?" Their father doesn't seem too pleased with the idea of his first grandchild being born to unwed parents.

Everyone turns to Sasuke, clearly this is for him to answer. Finally getting up from his slouched position on the sofa, he straightens up and looks his father in the eye. "Yes, because that is what _Sakura and I_ want to do. It's what is best for our unborn child and you will support us on this decision."

Like they're watching a tennis match, everyone else's gazes turn to the Uchiha patriarch to see his response. Like Sasuke, he's sitting straight and tense, then eventually his face softens and he nods.

"Very well. If you are prepared to support Sakura and the baby then your mother and I will support you."

Sakura and Mikoto smile at each other, relieved that the rough patch is finally over. They stand, beginning to discuss Sakura's prenatal plans while Sasuke sits back on the sofa. Fugaku makes his way over to Sakura, who stares up at him like a deer in headlights and Itachi has to cover his mouth in order to hide his smirk. The girl has met their father on several occasions but she still hasn't been able to get over her slight fear of him.

Although, Itachi figures to himself later, given the latest _development_ in her and Sasuke's relationship, he doesn't really blame her.

"You let us know if there is anything we can help out with for payments, Sakura." He rests a hand on her shoulders as she nods up at him before leading their mother into the kitchen.

"Oh, and I'd like to be updated on the growth and development when you meet with Tsunade-sama, Sakura-chan," Mikoto calls from the doorway. "And let me know when your baby shower will be!"

"Sure, of course, Mikoto-chan!" Sakura smiles at the older woman, her hands clasped behind her back. Once their parents are out of sight, she visibly slouches and plops down next to Sasuke, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Relax," Itachi assures them. "It went better than I expected."

"He's right, Sasuke-kun," Sakura smiles, pressing a kiss to her boyfriend's cheek. "Although your father was even scarier than I remembered."

"Hn. I'm not afraid of him," Sasuke mumbles, staring off into space.

Itachi smirks, "Well if you're not afraid of _our_ Otou-sama, little brother, you might be of Sakura-chan's."

Sakura sits up, biting her fingernail. "Oh yeah, he's right, Sasuke-kun. I mean, Tou-san isn't your biggest fan already but once he finds out you got his _baby girl_ pregnant…"

Reaching for his own cup of tea, Itachi laughs out loud at her comment but he can't help but notice the way Sasuke's face visibly whitens at the thought.

* * *

**No idea where this one came from. I always thought it would be a funny idea though.**

**So I just had surgery on my throat last week, nothing major just some infection stuff in my tonsil area, but I've basically been stuck in bed for the past week. While I'm glad it was on my summer break and not while I was away at school, it totally blows. On the plus side, I've been reading a **_**lot**_** of great fics lately and it got me in the mood to write!**


	6. sticky face

**title: **sticky face  
**characters: **SasuSaku  
**rating: **M  
**category: **crack!  
**warnings:** AU, oral, language

**(And yes, the title means what you think it means. If you don't understand, you shouldn't be reading this anyway…)**

* * *

"Sakura, are you almost ready?"

_Crash._ "Shit! Ah—yeah, just a minute, Sasuke-kun!"

Sasuke sighed, leaning against the counter of his girlfriend's bathroom. He wiped the steam away from the mirror, "What time did Ino say we were leaving for her cabin?"

"Um…" _Smack. Bam. _"Ack! _Stupid son of a_—er, eleven?"

He glanced at the clock in her bedroom, it was nearly ten thirty. He'd just gotten out of the shower but he was still sure he'd be ready before she was. With a sigh, the Uchiha ran a hand through his wet hair, frowning at the way it chose to stick up in the back no matter how much he combed his fingers through it.

There was a loud ripping sound and then several books fell to the floor in Sakura's bedroom. Sasuke refrained from sighing as his girlfriend muttered more curse words under her breath. "You sure you're okay in there?" he intoned.

"Sasuke-kun, I'm twenty-one years old, I think I'm perfectly capable of—"

It took him a second to realize she had stopped talking and was in fact staring at him.

No. Not staring.

_Ogling._

Sasuke looked over at her, frozen in place tying her hair up in a loose ponytail, then down at himself. Sure he'd just stepped out of the shower, what was the big deal?

"What?"

Dazed emerald eyes met his before flashing in annoyance, "No fair. You can't just stand there all sexily dripping wet with just a towel barely wrapped around those goddamn hips of yours and act like I'm supposed to carry on my business all the way over here in my room!"

"Sakura. What are you talking about."

Instead of answering, she suddenly decided to turn ravenous and launched herself at him. Sasuke barely had time to catch her before she wrapped her legs around _those goddamn hips of his_, his hands cradling her rear to support her sudden weight.

Sakura's mouth was on his in an instant, her tongue surging into his mouth and tasting everywhere it pleased. While Sasuke was surprised in his girlfriend's sudden actions, he sure as hell wasn't going to dismiss them. Cradling her tighter to him, he pressed her up against the wall so he could move one hand up into her hair. He pulled the pink locks out of the ponytail she'd just made, tangling his hand in their softness and clutching her head closer to his.

Their hips ground together, that towel slowly making its way down Sasuke's hips until it was barely even hanging on. Sakura groaned as he bit at her neck, raking her nails down his bare back.

Suddenly neither of them gave a damn about eleven o'clock. Hell, Sasuke didn't even care if they missed the trip entirely as long as he got some—

_Knock. Knock. Knock. "Forehead girl! We're here!"_

Sakura pulled her lips away from his quickly, smacking her head on the drywall and cursing loudly. "Damn it," she breathed. "I forgot they were even on their way…"

Ino knocked at the door again, _"Oi! Forehead! I know you're in there! Open up right now!"_

"Ugh, what a CB," Sakura groaned, her legs releasing their vice-grip on Sasuke's hips as her feet lowered to the ground.

He moved to find his boxers and a pair of pants, needing a few minutes away from Sakura to…calm himself down. "CB?"

"Cock Block," she explained.

"Ah." A fitting term. He looked down, nearly pouting on behalf of the part of himself that had indeed been blocked.

"AND GOD DAMN IT, I'M STILL NOT PACKED YET…"

* * *

An hour later, they were well on their way to Ino's family cabin for the weekend. They'd started out following the caravan of Ino's Jeep and Kiba's massive kidnapper-esque van he and Naruto had dubbed The Panty-Dropper™, but Sakura knew the way so well that eventually they were the only ones on the highway.

For a while they sat in comfortable silence, listening to music or occasionally chatting. It wasn't until Sakura pulled off the interstate highway that Sasuke noticed his girlfriend had been in a rather…sour mood since they'd left and she was continuously muttering to herself.

At first he figured it was just nothing but after a good half hour of her pouting he finally decided enough was enough.

"What's wrong?" he mumbled, "You've been pouting since we left."

"It's nothing," Sakura snapped. "I'm just…hot."

Staring at her for a moment, Sasuke reached down to the A/C controls and flipped the fan to the next highest level.

Still no luck.

After another fifteen minutes, he noticed she kept fidgeting in her seat, gripping the steering wheel like a mad woman until her knuckles were white.

"Sakura, what's the matter?"

She eyed him for a minute before blowing out a puff of air, leaning back in her seat. "We were _so close!_ And I just…well I didn't…"

_She didn't…what is she talking…_ Suddenly it was all clear: the sudden heat, the fidgeting, the way she kept rubbing her thighs together. Sasuke smirked, undoing his seatbelt and sliding over the consol between them to press his face into her neck.

"You didn't get to…finish?" he breathed into her ear.

Sakura shuttered, gripping the steering wheel even harder. "D-Don't tease me, Sasuke-kun!"

"I'm not," he insisted, sucking on her neck and rubbing his hand up and down her thigh. "I'm _helping_ you finish."

One hand slid under her tank top to grab at her breast, massaging and squeezing her nipple until Sakura was practically weeping in ecstasy. She was panting in his ear, gripping the steering wheel with all her might as his fingers worked to undo her jean shorts.

"S-Sasuke-kun!" she squeaked. "There are other drivers on the road!"

His calloused hands worked her shorts down her soft legs until they were at her ankles, her tiny red thong following them. Two fingers pushed inside her, stroking her slick walls. Sakura spread her knees and scooted her hips forward so he could get better access.

A large green truck passed by them and Sakura tensed. Sasuke paused in his actions, he didn't want her to feel uncomfortable. "Well I'll just have to make sure I'm hidden."

And with that, he lowered so his face was in between her thighs, causing Sakura to cry out.

Sasuke slid his tongue to where his fingers had been, lapping up at her juices and lightly biting the insides of her thighs while his fingers worked her swollen clit. His tongue pumped into her, massaging wherever it could reach.

Sakura groaned, her hips pumping in tempo with his hot tongue as she struggled to keep her focus on the road. She thanked whoever was listening that it was a straight road with few drivers.

His fingers plunged into her once more as his mouth sucked on her nub, working it until she was pulsating with pleasure. A few more strokes of his tongue and Sakura was crying out, one hand gripping Sasuke's hair. She pulled off of the road, her feet stomping on the break while Sasuke quickly shifted the car into park.

Sakura was panting heavily, one hand running through her hair, the other resting on her heaving chest. Finally she opened her eyes, looking down at Sasuke, who was busy lapping up the rest of her mess. When he was done, he lifted his head to meet hers and pressing their lips together.

She moaned softly at the taste of herself on his tongue as their mouths moved together and hastily unbuckled her seatbelt so she could bring her arms around her boyfriend. Just as she was considering pulling him into the back seat, her phone went off.

**New Text Message: Ino-Pig's Cell**

**just got to the rest stop! where are you guys?**

With a sigh, Sakura replied to her best friend that they were on their way. "Tonight," she promised Sasuke with a final kiss. He nodded, helping her pull up her underwear and shorts. Once she was finally situated, Sakura pulled back onto the road.

They were quiet for a few minutes, Sakura content to hold Sasuke's hand in her lap as she drove and they listened to one of their favorite CD's. As she pulled up to the rest stop the others were waiting at, she turned to her boyfriend.

"Just so you know, I plan on paying you back some day."

Sasuke only smirked in anticipation.

* * *

**Number One: This actually **_**is**_** possible, a friend of mine had it done to her by her boyfriend and while she said it was **_**very**_** enjoyable, it was also very difficult to focus on driving. She nearly crashed into a tree. Twice. So don't try this at home. Safety first, kids.**

**Number B: The Panty-Dropper™ is based on my guy friend's ride. It is seriously this monster van that looks like something Charles Manson or somebody would have driven but he named it The Panty-Dropper™. As far as I know it hasn't lived up to its name yet but it can fit like 17 people in it so we like it anyway.**

**The world needs more SasuSaku. Come on people! I'd love to read some new stuff so let me know if you have any recommendations/your own work you're proud of.**

**Also, I'd love any requests!**

**(And of course, reviews are love.)**


	7. leave out all the rest

**title: **leave out all the rest  
**characters: **eventual SasuSaku, ensemble  
**rating: **T  
**category:** romance/supernatural/action (my attempt at least…)  
**warning:** clearly, this is AU, probably some OOC

**Watching both seasons of **_Vampire Knight_** plus seeing **_Eclipse_** three times already led me to this plot bunny and I just couldn't get it out of my head. So yeah…I'm kind of obsessed with vampires and I think Sasuke would make one damn sexy vampire…**

**Disclaimer: I own my book and DVD copies of the **_Twilight Saga_** but that is all. What I wouldn't give to own Uchiha Sasuke, Edward Cullen **_**and **_**Kuran Kaname. A girl can dream…**

* * *

"Sakura-chan, it's nearly closing time, would you like anything else to drink before I start cleaning up?"

Sakura blinks and looks up from her textbook, a light rosy tint on her cheeks, "Its nine o'clock already?"

The young woman working behind the coffee counter smiles down at one of her most frequent customers from the corner table she's working at. "Time sure flies lately, huh?"

Sakura nods in agreement before holding up her Styrofoam cup, "I'm fine with this, thanks Ayame-chan." She begins to pack up her books, sliding them into her messenger bag before lifting it onto her shoulder.

"Have a good night!" the barista calls out, waving the broom in her hand as a goodbye. Sakura waves behind her head as she pushes the door open with her hip, using her other hand to wrap her white scarf around her neck. A cold gust of wind blows into her face, nearly knocking the girl off her feet.

It's a cold, wet, late September evening, the kind that makes you want to curl up next to the fireplace with a good book and a warm cup of cocoa. That thought alone makes Sakura wish her apartment were closer to campus so she wouldn't have to endure walking nearly ten blocks just to get to her favorite coffee shop on campus.

She checks her watch; the last bus would have left just five minutes ago, meaning she'd have to wait another twenty-five minutes for the next one. With a sigh and one last gulp of her lukewarm coffee, Sakura decides to make the trek back home by foot and heads to the back alleys as a short cut.

Reaching into her bag, she pulls out her red iPod, only to frown when she remembers the battery died when she last used it this morning. The only sounds in the cold night air are the wind howling and the occasional _drip-drip-drip_ of leftover rain water falling from rooftops after this afternoon's showers.

Soon Sakura thinks she hears footsteps off in the distance. The back of her neck prickles, but when she looks behind her, she sees no one. Crossing the street into another alley, she tightens her grip on her bag and begins to speed up her pace.

_It's just your imagination, Sakura,_ she tells herself. _You've been drinking too much coffee and reading too many vampire books. You're almost home, just keep walking._

However, she can't shake that feeling that someone is watching her, following her. This time keeping her pace steady, she quickly glances behind her with only the corner of her eye and sees three shadowed figures in the close distance.

Her heart jumps and her stomach twists as her mind races to come up with a plan. Her first instinct is to run and scream for help, but she's sure there's no one around to hear her. Being a first year medical student, her analytical mind works think of something. She wishes she hadn't laughed in her father's face when he offered to buy her a bottle of pepper spray. She wishes she knew how to throw a right hook. All her anatomical knowledge won't do any good if she doesn't have any weapon to use.

She doesn't have any valuables to give them. Maybe her iPod or her cell phone, but that's about it, unless they want some massive college textbooks. She grabs her phone, sliding it open to dial for help only to let out a frustrated cry when she sees that she has no signal.

A faint voice in the back of her mind reminds her that it's probably not the messenger bag they're after, but _her_.

Looking back over her shoulder, Sakura is surprised that the figures are gone. She stops and turns around fully, not realizing until it's too late that she's let her guard down.

When she faces forward again she jumps as she comes face to face with the three men once more. They're dressed in strange black cloaks with red clouds on them. She's never seen cloaks like that before, but figures they must be in some kind of gang or yakuza.

"I don't have much money," she tells them flat out, forcing herself to stand up straighter. Her hands grip the leather strap of her bag so the men won't see how they shake.

Her comment makes the men laugh, once again proving to her they aren't here to rob her. The man in the middle, the leader, she's assuming, steps forward. He has dark hair pulled into a low ponytail and eyes as black as night.

He grins down at her, "We don't want your money."

"I—I'm HIV positive!" she lies, trying to come up with some reason for them to want to leave her alone. While she's never heard of it happening before, she's fairly sure a rapist isn't going to want to risk catching the deadly virus.

The men laugh even more, much to her dismay. Who are these people? "Fortunately that won't have any effect on us," the leader explains, a condescending smirk on his face.

Sakura's heart thuds in her chest and she swears these men can hear it. They look at her with hungry looks in their eyes…in fact, the leader's eyes have turned red as he stares at her.

It's at this point that she realizes these people may not be ordinary humans.

"What do you want from me?" she asks suddenly, her voice cracking in the middle.

One of the other men, with blonde hair in a high ponytail, smiles wickedly at her. "We want to hear you scream, little girl."

She steels herself, getting a better grip on her bag before turning and racing back down the way she came. She knows this isn't going to do anything, there's no way she can outrun them, but she isn't going to let them do anything to her without a struggle.

She's barely made it through one alley before the third man is in front of her. His beady eyes gleam in the moonlight and its only now that she notices his teeth are rather pointed, his skin a little too gray.

The three begin to close in on her and Sakura feels herself beginning to panic as her heart thuds in her chest. A hand reaches out and yanks her scarf away, the thick wool chafes at her neck and jerks her forward. She bites her tongue from the way her head jolts and now her vision is spotty from the action.

The blonde grabs for her, tangling his fingers through her long pink hair and pulling her head back so her neck is exposed. His other arm crushes her to his rock hard form. She shudders as she realizes he doesn't just have a firm body…he is literally as solid as rock.

"Who are you?" she manages to gasp out, only to have the blonde bring his fist down into her stomach, knocking the wind out of her.

The leader's eyes flash red and he smirks down at her, stepping forward. His cold hands caress her face and Sakura struggles to break free of their hold. "You're only making this harder on yourself," he tells her with a patronizing voice.

She swears she sees something strange in his mouth but it's so brief her brain can't comprehend what it is. The man bends over her and without even having to think Sakura brings her foot up to kick him in the knee. He grunts and stumbles back, looking up at her through his bangs in surprise.

The blonde holding her slams her into the brick wall behind them as punishment. He turns her around so her front is pressed into the wall, her cheek digging into the cold bricks.

"I've had enough of this," the leader says, recovering from Sakura's blow. "Hold her down."

And then his body is behind hers, it feels so cold she swears he's made of ice. Even his breath hitting the back of her neck is freezing. Sakura screams at the feel of him pulling her head back to expose her neck once more.

"Get off me!" she screams, her fingers clawing at the wall.

Suddenly he's thrown off of her, as is the blonde one pinning her. Hesitantly, Sakura turns around to see all three of the men in cloaks are on the ground. There are two other men—a blonde with spiky hair and strange marks on his tan face and another man with skin like moonlight and ink black hair. His eyes are that same strange red as the other man's…could they be related somehow?

"How rude of you to interrupt, otouto," the leader in the cloak says with a smirk on his face as he stands up, brushing himself off. His partners are standing now as well, flanking his either side.

"Leave her alone," the dark haired man who saved her says in a low baritone. His partner crosses his arms and glares at the others in warning.

The beady eyed man with gray skin frowns mockingly, "Are you always going to ruin our fun?"

"If your idea of 'fun' is murdering innocent humans as a game, then yes, we are!" the blonde shouts, his fists clenching.

The leader just chuckles, "I bet there's a part of you that wants to join in on our fun, Naruto. The part locked deep inside you."

The blonde—Naruto, Sakura is assuming—growls lowly, "You don't know anything about me, Itachi!"

"Enough of this," Naruto's partner says, stepping forward. Sakura looks from him to the man called Itachi—did he call him his little brother? "It's time for you to leave, Itachi."

Itachi smirks and steps closer as well, the black commas in his eyes beginning to spin. "Oh, I think we'll stay. We haven't had our…dessert yet."

Sakura shivers as everyone turns to her, wishing she could just wake up from this horrible nightmare she's been caught in. The large, gray one smirks at her, eyeing her with his dark eyes, "Maybe we should keep her. I could use a new toy…."

"You won't touch her!" Naruto snaps.

The shark-like man lunges at her and Sasuke is in front of Sakura in an instant. He pulls out a large sword and swings it at the man, who narrowly avoids the blow.

It's nearly pitch black out now but the occasional flashes of lightening provide Sakura with enough light to see what's going on as all five of the men begin to fight. She watches as the two who helped her—Naruto and Itachi's younger brother—manage to hold their own despite being outnumbered.

But suddenly Naruto is fighting the other blonde and Itachi and the gray man are up against the other one. He's backed into a corner, his hands flashing with a strange blue electricity. Sakura fears he may be in trouble and, seeing that Naruto is busy holding off the other one, decides that she owes it to this man to help him, even though she has no idea what she's doing.

She races forward, pulling her heavy messenger bag from over her shoulder and swinging it high over her head. It connects with the back of the gray man's head, sending him sprawling across the street with a loud _crack!_ Her bag broke from the impact and her textbooks are strewn across the wet concrete, already soaked in rainwater, but Sakura finds she doesn't really care. The dark haired man stares at her looking almost surprised, before he shoves her behind him and faces his brother.

Sakura hears Naruto shout something—_Did he say _Rasengan_?_—and suddenly strange star-shaped objects surrounded by light fly into the other blonde, knocking him off his feet and surrounding them all with a thick cloud of smoke.

Itachi glances back at the man in front of her before chuckling as they all disappear in the smoke. "Until next time, otouto…"

When the air clears, the three in the strange cloaks are gone. Naruto is panting and leaning against a wall. He turns to them and grins at Sakura.

"Ne, are you alright?"

The dark haired man turns around to face her, his eyes no longer crimson but a beautiful onyx. Sakura opens her mouth several times and finds she can't seem to make words. Somewhere in the back of her medical mind she's vaguely aware that she's probably going into shock.

"I…I…I…"

"That was pretty great, how you hammered Kisame with your bag! What's in there?" He squats down and picks up some of her wet books, trying in vain to wipe them off. "Anatomy…neurology…biochemistry…jeez what are you studying?"

"I'm a med student," she manages to whisper.

"What's your name?"

"S-Sakura," she pants. Naruto and Sasuke exchange a glance at this but she barely notices. Her chest is throbbing and her heart feels like it's about to burst. Sakura leans back on one hand, the other one is clutching at her chest.

"I'm Naruto! Teme over here is Sasuke," Naruto continues, jerking his thumb over at his companion. The blonde eyes her critically, "Hey, you don't look so good…you're really pale!"

He's moved in close enough that Sakura can get a good look at the strange things in his mouth and realizes that they're the same things she saw in Itachi's mouth. Two elongated teeth pull down to a point on either side of his incisors. She can't help but stare as she realizes all of these men have…fangs.

"Idiot," Sasuke mutters, crossing his arms. "She's going into shock."

"You're…you're…" Her head is spinning and before she knows it, she's lost her grip on the wall behind her and she's falling into darkness. She's vaguely aware of a pair of strong arms catching her before she hits the ground and suddenly she's lifted up against a firm chest, her head lolling onto the person's shoulder.

Before Sakura completely falls into the darkness, one word echoes in her mind.

_Vampires._

* * *

When she comes to, Sakura's first thought is that she dreamt the whole thing. But as she slowly blinks her eyes open and sees she's in a dark room she doesn't recognize, she knows the night's events were all real.

She sits up slowly, rubbing her temples to calm the throbbing. Damn what she wouldn't do for a glass of water and some aspirin.

Muffled voices come from behind the door and she can see light coming from underneath it. Naruto's loud voice bellows into the room but the rest of the voices are too quiet for her to make out. All she can gather is that there are definitely more than Naruto and Sasuke out there.

Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Sakura pushes the door open and makes her way down the hall, following the voices. She finds them all sitting in a large common room, Sasuke's scowling in an armchair in the corner while Naruto is standing in the center of the room, waving his hands animatedly.

"I still don't get why Sasuke decided to bring her here," a boy with dark hair and red triangles on his cheeks says from where he's lounging on a sofa. A little dog rests in his lap, nuzzling his stomach while he sleeps.

"I'm telling you, she's _the one_!" Naruto insists. He opens his mouth to continue when another man—seemingly the oldest of the bunch, with silver hair and wearing a strange mask on his face—turns to face her in the doorway.

"Ah, you're awake."

Sakura flushes as everyone in the room turns to her in silence. Nervously glancing around the room, she sees that everyone looks to be about her age except for the silver haired man. He makes his way over to her, placing a hand on her shoulder and guiding her into the room.

"Are you feeling alright? Can we get you anything?"

He seems nice enough but Sakura can't find it in herself to let her guard down. Being in a room full of strangers with fangs, she can't help but feel a little tense.

"Um, I guess I'd like some answers…" she says quietly, glancing from Naruto to Sasuke.

The silver haired man nods and brings her to an empty chair next to a blonde girl. "Fair enough. For starters, my name is Kakashi. You can think of me as a sort of…adoptive father of these youngsters."

The boy with the dog snorts, "He wishes."

Kakashi gives him a look before turning back to Sakura, "That's Kiba, his dog is Akamaru." He continues to introduce her to everyone—the lazy looking boy with a ponytail is Shikamaru, the blushing girl is Hinata, her cousin with matching white eyes is Neji, the brunette with her hair piled into two buns sitting next to Neji is Tenten, and the blonde girl sitting next to Sakura is Ino.

She nods, trying to process everything. Kakashi doesn't beat around the bush as he acknowledges they all have fangs and several of them have uncommon physical features. He explains that they're a group of vampires who choose not to drink human blood and feed on animals instead.

Kiba interrupts, admitting that sometimes for fun they like to rob blood banks as a rush. Kakashi glares at him and explains to Sakura that he doesn't usually like to broadcast that part.

"Who were those guys who attacked me? They had those cloaks on…." Sakura trails off and everyone gets quiet.

"Akatsuki," a low voice says and Sakura looks at Sasuke in surprise. This is the first time he's said anything since she woke up. She can't help but stare at him, while he is extremely masculine she almost thinks he looks beautiful in a gothic, tragic kind of way. His pale skin, dark hair, aristocratic features, and penetrating gaze leave her feeling mesmerized.

"Their leader, Itachi, is Sasuke-teme's older brother," Naruto explains to her, drawing her attention back to their conversation. "They're a group of rogue vampires who hunt for fun. They like to torture humans and kill even if they don't need to drink blood."

"We're trying to stop them," Ino explains, flipping her long hair behind her and moving closer to Sakura. "Most of us have been here for years."

"Not that I have a problem with it…but why don't you guys drink human blood?" Sakura can't help but ask.

Ino shrugs, "Because it's wrong. Contrary to popular belief, you don't lose your soul when you become a vampire."

"Some people just choose to ignore it," Tenten adds from her place next to Neji. Judging by the way they're angled towards each other, Sakura assumes they're together. She wonders if anyone else in the group is a couple and subconsciously, she finds her eyes drawn back to Sasuke.

A door from the back bangs open and a boy with an awful bowl cut bursts into the room. "Has her youthfulness awakened?" His eyes land on her and he sweeps towards her, pulling her hands into his own.

"Are you feeling well? I was most impressed when Naruto regaled us with the story of your youthful bravery!"

Sakura's eyes widen and she tries to subtly pry her hands from his grasp as Ino leans towards her, "That's Lee. He's a little…enthusiastic sometimes."

Sakura smiles at her, "Just when I thought I had everyone's names down."

The blonde laughs and Sakura wonders if they could've been friends if situations were different. That thought brings her back to her most important question. She turns to Kakashi, "Um, I was just wondering…what am I doing here?"

"You passed out," Naruto explains. "Teme caught you and we didn't know what else to do with you so we brought you here until you woke up."

She watches him, not buying his story. "Before I heard you say something about me being 'the one.' What's that about?"

Naruto anxiously glances at Sasuke before looking to Kakashi for assistance. "Sakura," Kakashi asks softly, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder once more. "Were you, by any chance, adopted?"

She blinks up at him in surprise. "Yeah. How did you know?"

"I knew it!" Naruto cheers, pumping his fists into the air while Tenten rolls her eyes at his display.

Kakashi glances over her head at Sasuke and she's getting fed up with everyone looking to Mr. Silent-and-Broody without giving her any explanation. Whirling around to face him, Sakura narrows her eyes and asks, "What's going on, Sasuke?"

His midnight eyes bear into hers and it's as if they're frozen in time, locked in each other's gazes. He's searching for something, she can tell, as he holds her gaze. She can't tell if he finds what he's looking for but eventually he turns to Kakashi and nods to him.

"In the vampire world, there are certain ranks of vampires," Kakashi begins. "Purebloods are at the top, they're like vampire royalty. Then there are nobles who have human ancestry mixed in their bloodlines. The more human your ancestry, the lower you are in rank.

"The Uchiha clan is one of the final pureblood clans, and several years ago nearly the entire clan was wiped out by one of the two heirs…Itachi."

Sakura's eyes widen, "Sasuke is a…prince?"

Kakashi nods, "After the clan massacre, Itachi became a rogue vampire and soon created Akatsuki. Sasuke, the new Uchiha heir due to Itachi's banishment, was brought to me to be raised."

"So, how many Uchiha are left?"

"…Two."

Her heart breaks at the idea of what Sasuke had to go through—having his entire family wiped out by his older brother. No wonder they couldn't get along. She looks back at him but he refuses to meet her gaze now.

"When Sasuke was first born, he was betrothed to the daughter of another pureblood clan, in hopes to bring the two clans together and create a twice as powerful clan," Kakashi continues. "Around the same time of the massacre, this clan was destroyed as well but no one knows who the murderer is. The princess was kidnapped and never heard from again…."

Sakura blinks up at him in confusion, "I don't get what this has to do with me…."

Naruto jumps up, "You're not telling it right, Kakashi! The princess had _pink_ hair, Sakura-chan. How many people do you know with naturally pink hair?"

"Wait a minute—" She puts her hands up in front of her. "You can't be saying…."

"How did your adoptive parents decide to name you Sakura?"

She hesitates, "I…they didn't. They said my birth parents gave me that name."

"Aha! The princess's name was Sakura! You can't say that was coincidence! For years we've been looking for a Sakura with pink hair who wasn't born into her family," Naruto refuses to stop, his eyes glowing with excitement. Sakura looks over to Sasuke who finally looks back up at her, his eyes tell her that he at least is _considering_ what Naruto is saying.

"You're Sasuke-teme's fiancée, Sakura-chan! You're our long-lost vampire princess!"

* * *

**Whew that was a long one! I completely fail at writing short stories if I'm trying to include a plot :/**

**I wasn't intending to, but I kind of ended up tying in pieces of from all three plots into the story. I think it ended flowing together pretty well. Sure there are still lots of unanswered questions, but this was just supposed to be like a snapshot.**

**I kind of want to continue this one…any thoughts?**


	8. speak now

**I think I need to announce my going on hiatus all the time. Whenever I do, I end up wanting to write again. I'm super busy with classes and work so we'll see how often I actually update this time. Thanks for sticking around!**

**title: **speak now  
**characters: **SasuSaku, ensemble  
**rating: **K+  
**category: **drama/romance  
**notes: **AU, non-massacre

**Side Note: yes, this is inspired by the song **Speak Now** by **Taylor Swift**. Love the song, love her. Sadly, I don't own any of it.**

**I know nothing of Japanese weddings and I didn't really feel like putting up the effort to research them. I tried to keep things vague enough so it didn't really matter.**

* * *

_I am not the kind of girl who should be rudely barging in on a white veil occasion._

I can't believe I'm doing this. I'm twenty-three year old for goodness' sake yet here I am, about to break into the biggest mansion I've ever seen so I can break up the biggest wedding of the year.

"Get a move on, Forehead!" my best friend (Ino-Pig) snaps at me from behind the wheel. I jump and turn towards her for one last look of assurance. Her face softens and she winks at me, before pushing me out of the passenger seat of her car.

I stumble out, my heels clicking against the pavement of the street. At first I'd objected to dressing up for this—it felt so _wrong_—but Ino insisted I did so I would better blend in with the crowd of wedding-goers when I snuck in.

As I approach the manor, I start to feel smaller and smaller. The mansion looms over me. "Okay Sakura, you can do this," I assure myself, fixing my cropped pink hair one last time before walking through the gates, "This is Sasuke we're talking about."

_But you are not the kind of boy who should be marrying the wrong girl._

Getting in is easy enough, despite the fact that I'm sure I look a nervous wreck. I make sure to avoid anyone I might know. Having gone to school with Sasuke-kun since we were children doesn't make that an easy task.

We grew up together; I know his entire family and friend group—most of his are my friends as well anyway. Out of all of us I was the only one not invited (obviously the bride-to-be didn't want to feel threatened by my presence). Ino-chan, the amazing best friend she is, purposely declined the invite. Nothing like a little female solidarity to give you courage.

You're probably thinking that I'm the bitter ex-girlfriend who just can't let go or some other cliché. Well it's actually nowhere near that.

Sasuke and I were never together. At most we were close friends but lately I wouldn't even call us acquaintances. It's been months since I last saw him. I'm pretty sure the last time we spoke was the day he told us all he was getting married.

I'd always known he was attractive—more than that even, the only word to describe Uchiha Sasuke is _beautiful_. But I had never seen him as more than that. I was always too busy with med-school or volunteering at the hospital or studying to pay attention to the male sex. Sasuke was always just there for me.

It wasn't until I heard the news and felt my heart shattering into a million pieces that I realized I was in love with him. That the longing in my soul when he wasn't around and the feeling of joy only he could bring me weren't normal for anyone else.

I've never known how he felt about me—tolerates me maybe, but Naruto insists he actually _cares _for me. However he feels, it wasn't enough to make _me_ the woman dressed in white today.

Despite that thought, I can't feel bitter towards her. He didn't choose her. She was chosen for him.

As the next heir to the Uchiha legacy, it was decided that Sasuke should settle down and start a family. When he never stepped forward with a girl himself, Mikoto-san and Fugaku-san decided for him.

_Don't say yes, run away now. I'll meet you when you're out of the church at the back door._

I'm not Karin's biggest fan, but she isn't that bad either. In fact, if she wasn't such a psychotic fangirl over Sasuke I think I could have been friends with her.

But today she's the enemy.

I see a flash of golden spikes and quickly duck behind an old tapestry. Naruto walks past me unnoticing and makes his way towards Sasuke's bedroom. The guests start making their way out towards the back where the ceremony is being held in Mikoto-san's beautiful gardens.

Following a group of maids carrying guests' coats and bags, I slip outside and hide between some large shrubs. Hopefully no one will be able to see me from here.

Music begins and everyone turns towards the aisle.

_Don't wait or say a single vow. You need to hear me out when they said, "Speak now."_

Karin makes her way towards Sasuke in a beautiful snow white kimono that practically sparkles. Her thick red hair is pulled up by several combs that I recognize to be Mikoto-san's. They've been passed on through the generations for years. My heart pangs at the sight. I can remember trying them on when I was a little girl and imagining I was a bride in the Uchiha household. Sasuke simply laughed at me but I'd never felt more beautiful in my life.

The couple turns to face each other and the ceremony begins. My palms feel clammy and I can't catch my breath. I don't really know when the best time is for me to step in. I was so excited I never really got that far, now that I'm here I don't know what to do.

Sasuke's face remains impassive as he reaches for the cup of sake. I know his feelings for Karin are neutral at best. She's the daughter of a prestigious politician with no skeletons in her closet. She earned good marks in school and volunteers within the community regularly. The perfect future Uchiha matriarch.

Yet she's not the one for Sasuke. She chatters incessantly but she doesn't really say anything to him. When he does speak, she doesn't really listen to him. She appreciates his good looks, but she doesn't appreciate his loyalty, his strength, his intelligence. While he has a cold exterior, she's never made it past his walls to see his good heart.

He hesitates for a moment before lifting the glass, cradling it in his palms. This is it, I can't wait any longer.

I climb out of the bushes, praying to anyone listening up there that my hair didn't get messed up from my stupid hiding spot.

"Wait!" I cry, heart in my throat, hands shaking at my sides. Gasps echo through the crowd and Karin turns toward me with fury in her eyes. Sasuke looks at me, obviously surprised. I can't tell if he's relieved or annoyed to see me, but I'm not backing out now.

"I—" Oh Kami, what did I get myself into? "Don't do this. Don't marry her Sasuke-kun."

_Horrified looks from everyone in the room, but I'm only looking at you._

Jaws drop and I hear Naruto let out a loud cheer in the background. He's been pushing for Sasuke and me to get together since we were in high school.

I keep my gaze steady on Sasuke's dark eyes, trying to read them. Unable to stay still, my hands smooth over my red satin dress. I walk forward despite feeling my face heating up.

"You belong with me," I continue, since he still isn't responding. "We belong together."

"You haven't even seen each other in months," Karin snaps. Her fists tighten at her sides.

And whose fault is that? "Doesn't matter," I insist. "We've known each other for nearly twenty years. We know each other better than anyone does."

Sasuke looks back at his family. Mikoto-san looks surprised, Fugaku-san looks thoughtful. Itachi just looks amused.

When he doesn't say anything, my heart feels like it sinks into my stomach. Obviously I've made a mistake. And I've made a fool out of myself.

Blinking back the tears rushing into my eyes, I turn and run. My heels make it difficult for me but I manage to hobble my way through the manor and back into the street. Ino was supposed to park somewhere a few blocks away but close enough so she could watch for me if this exact scenario happened. I can't believe it did.

I'm standing in the middle of the road, just waiting for her and allowing the tears to slide down my cheeks. Small gasps and sobs bubble up from my chest. My hands are shaking, my knees can barely support me.

I hear a strange sound behind me but I can't quite make out what it is. Before I can fully turn around I realize it's the sound of hurried footsteps. Coming right towards me.

I spin around and gape at the sight before me. Coming out of the manor is none other than Sasuke.

_You say let's run away now. I'll meet you when I'm out of my tux at the back door._

Naruto and Hinata-chan and Tenten and the rest of our friend group are following closely behind. Off to the side, his family watches. He's changed out of his yukata into his usual pair of black pants and a dark blue dress shirt.

"Sasuke-kun?" He stops before me, hands in his pockets as I look up at him. My eyes dart back and forth between his.

"Did you mean it?"

"What?"

"What you said," he pushes. "Did you mean it?"

"I…absolutely."

Something in his dark eyes changes. He looks back at his family once and I notice his father nods at him. Before I can wonder what that means, Sasuke pulls me into his arms and presses his lips to mine. He swallows my gasp and supports me when my knees buckle under me. Eventually I regain control of myself, bringing my arms around his shoulders as I return the kiss. Our mouths move together for a few brief, wonderful moments. He pulls away and rests his forehead against mine.

"So what happens next?" he asks softly.

"Hm?" is all I can get out with my head in the clouds and my heart doing somersaults.

"This grand scheme of yours. What happens next?"

The sound of tires burning pavement in the distance causes a wide grin to spread on my face. I hear Ino get out of her car and we turn towards her. She tosses the keys to Sasuke and winks at me.

We separate to get into the car but before we get in, I turn to him. "I was thinking we ride off into that sunset," I say with a wide grin. He just smirks at me and nods.

Sasuke starts up the car and we take off, heading towards our future.

_Baby, I didn't say my vows, so glad you were around when they said, "Speak now."_

* * *

**Random question: if I started a story based on the last one-shot I posted (leave out all the rest), would anyone be interested in it? I don't have anything for sure yet, I was just curious if it would get any readers.**


	9. i feel home

**title:** i feel home  
**characters: **SasuSaku  
**rating: **K+  
**category: **romance/fluff

* * *

The rain seemed to beat down from all angles. It soaked his clothes, blurred his vision, whipped at his hair, brought his body to an unpleasant chill. After that weeklong horror of a mission, all Sasuke wanted to do was get home.

He hopped from tree to tree, barely able to navigate his way through the foliage due to the nasty storm he was trapped in. While the mission had been successful, it in no way had been easy and had taken the last of his patience. The Hokage had sent him to retrieve some sacred scrolls stolen by a group of Mist nin nearly a month ago, and those nin were not willing to give the scrolls back without a fight.

Finally Konoha's gates came in sight but still Sasuke couldn't relax. He hastily made his way to the Hokage tower to fill out a report with Tsunade-sama, wishing that he could go straight home for once.

Half an hour later, he made his way through the streets, ignoring the several inches of water pooling on the pavement—his clothes were already soaked through, what was a little more rain water? A woman called out a greeting to him—whom he later recognized to be Kurenai—but he paid her no attention; nothing would stand in the way of him and his home.

The Uchiha compound was dark for the most part, seeing as only one of the houses was being used currently. A light in the main house, however, was just the welcome he needed. He pushed through the front door, not minding that he was dripping rain water and mud all over the floors. Working his way towards his bedroom, his eyes searched everywhere for what he was looking for.

Opening the bedroom door, finally, there it was.

"Welcome home, Sasuke-kun."

There sat his wife, sitting on her feet in the middle of their bed. Her cropped pink hair rested loosely at her shoulders, all she was wearing was a turquoise camisole and matching panties. The room was dark save for half a dozen lit candles scattered about the bedroom, the covers of their shared bed turned back and inviting.

Soft music drifted in and out of his attention as he lay face down in their pillows, resting his head against his crossed arms. Sakura sat on his lower back, massaging his aching shoulders and spine. Her smooth hands flickered with the slight chakra she used to soothe the sore muscles beneath his skin. She ran her fingers through his now dry hair, scraping at his scalp with her long nails like she knew he liked.

She leaned forward, resting her chin on his shoulder and pressing her lips against his cheek. She didn't ask him about the mission—she knew he would tell her in time, and that all he wanted (_needed_) right now was her silent company and her soft touch.

Sasuke reached behind him, gripping one of her small hands in his own. "Sakura," he breathed quietly, before turning to press his mouth against hers.

He was home.


	10. guilty pleasure

**title: **guilty pleasure  
**characters: **SasuSaku  
**rating: **M  
**category: **smut, AU

**My gift to you all: two for the price of one! Make sure you didn't miss the drabble before this one :)**

**It is currently 27 degrees ****F and cloudy here. I am ready for spring.**

* * *

Sakura hummed to herself quietly where she sat in the corner of the university library, reading through her anatomy textbook. Her pencil squeaked occasionally as she took notes in her notebook but she barely noticed over her music playing in her ears. She sighed as she stretched for a moment and looked over her shoulder to the window. It was a beautiful April morning, and while all she wanted was to spend the day outside, she was stuck inside studying for her upcoming exam.

The chair across the table from hers scraped against the tile floor as it was pulled out. Sakura jumped slightly but smiled when she turned and saw her boyfriend looking down at her, wearing a Konoha University Basketball t-shirt and athletic shorts.

"Sporty," she noted, removing her ear buds and setting them on the table.

Sasuke grunted at her while he pulled out a textbook on business management and his laptop. "I'm meeting Naruto to work out in an hour," he explained.

Sakura nodded, allowing herself to stare at his (_unnaturally_) beautiful face for another moment before returning to her reading. Sasuke cracked open his own text book, reading over a few passages before he turned to his computer and began typing away. They sat in companionable silence for a few minutes before Sakura found herself growing antsy. She'd been studying for nearly two hours already and she was in desperate need of a break.

Looking up at the man in front of her, she smiled to herself, deciding that he would make for quite the delicious distraction.

It started innocently enough—she stretched her arms above her head, shaking her high ponytail slightly and brushed her foot against his own. Sasuke didn't even pause in his typing, just kept his eyes glued to the screen.

Her mouth twitched a bit but Sakura didn't allow her boyfriend's complete lack of awareness to his surroundings deter her. She slipped her foot out of her sandal, carefully reaching it forward until it lightly brushed against his bare ankle, just above his sock. This time Sasuke paused in his typing, stiffening briefly before returning to his essay.

Now Sakura was really beginning to get annoyed. This boy may have been one of the top of their class but he sure was lacking in the responsive boyfriend department! Clenching her teeth and glancing around quickly to make sure there weren't too many people around, she lifted her bare foot and slowly dragged the sole of it up and down his calf.

"Sakura," Sasuke intoned, not looking up at her, "what are you doing."

"I need a study break, Sasuke-kun," she whispered back, resting her chin on her elbows and fluttering her eyelashes at him.

Once again, the Uchiha didn't even notice.

"Well I just started. I need to keep working," was all he said. Not even looking up to see the fury sparking in her eyes, he turned to his book and flipped to another chapter.

_So he wants to play hard to get?_ Sakura thought to herself, _well that's fine and dandy with me—time to bring out the big guns._

She scooted forward in her chair so she could reach a little better before once more lifting her foot towards him. Only this time she didn't aim for one of his legs, she went directly between them.

The moment her foot made contact Sasuke jerked in his chair, his ears tinting red and his jaw clenching. "Sakura, what do you think you're doing?" he hissed.

Licking her lips, she merely leaned forward, once more applying a slight pressure to his groin—causing him to nearly swallow his tongue—before standing up and heading towards the back of the library.

Sure enough, after a few seconds she felt his masculine presence at her back. Sakura reached behind her and grabbed his calloused hand, twining their fingers together. She led him through several aisles until they reached a section of the library that was deserted.

"Sakura, we shouldn't do this here," he hissed in her ear, his hot breath sending shivers down her spine.

"Relax, Sasuke-kun," she purred as she wrapped her arms around his neck. She stood up onto her toes so she could push her hips and her breasts into his hard body, smiling secretly to herself when he subconsciously rocked his body into hers. "This is the academic journals section—no one even comes back here because you can get all that stuff online now. We're completely alone."

Sensing he was still hesitating, Sakura decided to pull out the last card up her sleeve. Keeping her eyes locked with his, she stepped back and reached beneath the short floral dress she was wearing to pull her navy lace panties down her slender legs. Stepping out of them, she pushed them into Sasuke's shorts pocket before sashaying towards an aisle at the back. If she knew her boyfriend (and after dating for nearly three years, she did better than anyone), he'd be rushing in right behind her, pulling her into his strong arms and—

"Sasuke-kun," she breathed as his lips attacked her neck. Her arms gripped at his shoulders, reaching for anything she could get her hands on. Sasuke lowered his mouth to hers, sweeping his tongue between her pink lips to tangle with her own. She whimpered and rose up to her tiptoes again, anxious to feel every part of his body against hers.

He pushed her backwards until her back hit a bookshelf, his hands gripping at her ass and grinding her against his arousal. They rocked together as their mouths moved across each other's neck and shoulder bones, licking and sucking wherever their lips could reach.

The shelf supporting Sakura rocked slightly, causing the couple to pause. They looked up above their heads and wordlessly decided that these shelves were too old to be sturdy enough for this position. Sakura kissed Sasuke once more, drawing his bottom lip between her white teeth and tugging slightly before she turned around. Bracing her hands in the shelf the same height as her shoulders, she ground her ass against his hardness. He groaned and gripped at her hips, pulling her back against him more.

While he kissed and licked at her neck, not minding the way her long ponytail swung against his face, Sasuke pushed his shorts and boxers past his hips until they were snug against his thighs. Due to their massive height difference—him standing at 6'1" and her head barely reaching past his shoulders—this position always took a little reworking for them, but eventually Sakura figured out that if she lifted one of her legs until it bent at the knee, resting her bare foot on one of the shelves, Sasuke could get enough of an angle for this to work.

He slipped two fingers into her, cursing at how hot and sopping wet she already was. Sakura whimpered and leant her head back against his shoulder as he worked her. Sasuke hoisted her knit dress around her waist, exposing her toned legs and firm ass. She could feel him against her smooth cheeks every time she rocked in tempo with his hand and knew that she had to have him inside her soon.

Finally Sasuke withdrew his fingers, coating his length with her sticky wetness before drawing her hips back and up. He had to bend his knees slightly but with one quick snap of his hips he plunged into her. Sakura let out a heavy breath, biting onto her the back of her hand in front of her to quiet her moans.

He began thrusting into her, using his grip on her hips to help her find his rhythm and soon they were a pair of moaning, groaning, rocking twenty one year olds who could barely keep their knees from buckling. Sasuke lifted one hand from her hips underneath her dress to find a hardened nipple. Sakura moaned, rocking back into him, while he rubbed the bud between his fingers. He leaned forward and began suckling at the velvety skin of her shoulder, tracing over light freckles with his tongue.

She could tell by the way his hips quickened their pace and he began making little grunts under his breath that he was close. She wanted to come with him so she rocked back against him even harder, then moaned low when his other hand reached down to rub at her sensitive clit. A few rough pinches and rolls were all it took to send her over the edge and she saw white. She heard him grunt deep in his chest behind her and clenched her lower muscles until he bit down on her shoulder and stiffened. Sakura sighed as his hot release filled her. Despite how archaic it sounded, she loved the idea of him marking her as his. Just as she wanted the world to know that he was hers.

After their heartbeats slowed down and their minds were no longer hazy, Sasuke bent his knees slightly and disengaged from her, quickly pulling up his shorts. She lowered her leg and allowed him to pull her panties up her legs to make sure their joined release didn't drip down her legs until she could get home to clean it.

They turned to each other, pulling close and languorously dipping their tongues back and forth between each other's mouth. Feeling sated and much more relaxed than she had earlier, Sakura smiled up at her boyfriend, who merely smirked down at her, knowing he hadn't had a say in any of this once she'd made up her mind.

"I love you," she said quietly as she cupped his cheeks, her lips barely brushing against his.

"Aa, I love you, too," he returned, kissing her briefly once more before pulling her back towards their table.

An hour had already passed, so they packed up their belongings and stepped out of the library. The sun was warm against their skin that had been cooled from the air conditioning.

"Well, thanks for the study break," Sakura said with a cheeky smile, hoisting her messenger bag higher up on her shoulder.

"Hn. Thanks for the warm up to my work out," Sasuke replied, his own eyes mischievous. Sakura grinned at her boyfriend's dirty mind, kissing him quickly between her laughter.

They parted ways—he heading towards the gym to meet with his best friend, she returning to their apartment to take a much needed shower. After a moment, she turned, holding her hand over her eyes to shade them.

"Oh, Sasuke-kun!" He turned and looked at her expectantly, one hand in his pocket, the other casually holding a strap of his backpack. "Don't overwork yourself _too_ much, you'll need some energy for tonight!"

Sasuke merely narrowed his eyes at her, ignoring the shocked or laughing stares of the students passing by them on the sidewalk. She giggled and blew him a kiss before turning around with an extra bounce in her step as she continued home.

Just thinking about Sasuke working out got her hot and bothered. Images of him lifting weights without a shirt on, his strong arm muscles flexing and sweat dripping down his firm abs had her practically drooling.

Oh, she couldn't wait for him to get home. She had her own personal work out planned for him.


	11. where i stood

**title: **where i stood  
**characters: **Karin POV, peripheral SasuSaku, Team Hebi, Team Seven  
**rating: **T  
**category: **angst, romance, AU

**Some brief background info: Sasuke killed Itachi with the help of Team Hebi. Not really necessary to know how they got to this point, that's all you need to know. I've labeled it as AU (so there will be no spoilers from the manga/anime), but you can pretty much interpret it as you like.**

**This is my first attempt at writing in second person. We'll see how it turns out.**

* * *

It's over.

You can't believe it. Years of hard work put in from the four of you have finally come through.

And after all those years, you can proudly say that _you_ were the one who stood by Sasuke-kun's side.

It wasn't without effort—_great _effort—Suigetsu can barely keep his head up; Juugo's arm is hanging limply at his side, the way it's dangling makes you figure it's probably broken; the fingers of your left hand are burned from that fireball attack you barely managed to dodge in time. Everyone's bodies are covered head to toe in bruises, blood and grime. But Sasuke-kun is faring the worst.

Standing over his brother's dead body, his legs tremble beneath him and he looks like he can't quite catch his breath. A flowing stream of blood trickles down over his eye and past his chin; you vaguely wonder if he has a concussion. Everyone's chakra levels are low—probably too low to be healthy, but you all made it out alive, and that's all that matters.

Suddenly Sasuke-kun grunts quietly, his eyes roll back and he wavers where he stands. Juugo rushes to catch him but you beat him, quickly ducking your head under Sasuke-kun's arm. His sudden weight on your shoulders causes them to flare up in protest but for the life of you, you will not give up this opportunity.

You haven't washed your hair in weeks; you stare up at him through stringy bangs and watch as he struggles to catch his breath. Heart skipping a beat, you can't help but wonder if he has finally accepted your love and is ready to return the feelings.

You adjust the angle he's leaning on you before checking on the others, making sure they're ready to head out. Juugo allows an exhausted Suigetsu to lean against him. You know they both need healing as well but you're saving up your chakra for Sasuke-kun first. You have to convince yourself that it's because he's the most injured and most at risk—not because you favor him.

The rest of Itachi's comrades who had been there for the final showdown are either dead or disappeared long ago. You four are the only ones remaining and your analytical mind acknowledges that you are still out in the open and have yet to get out of dangerous territory.

Before you can even ask Sasuke-kun where he wants to head for recuperation, he heaves in a deep breath and mutters one word.

"What?" you hiss, knowing your ears must be deceiving you. Maybe _you_ have a concussion as well because you must be hallucinating.

"He said _Konoha_," Juugo says quietly and you turn a heated glare in his direction. What does he know anyway? That can't truly be what Sasuke-kun wants. What could he possibly want there? There's nothing left for him there.

He has a future. A future with you.

"He wants to go home," Suigetsu agrees in an exhausted tone and you know there's no arguing now. With a huff, you take off in the general direction of Sasuke-kun's former village.

* * *

You have to travel at a slow pace because of everyone's injuries, but ironically enough Sasuke-kun and Itachi's final battle wasn't too far away from their former home. It would have taken three hours to get there if everyone was in proper health so it takes nearly five.

Everyone is silent, most likely going over the day's events or saving up their strength. Your mind is frantic; you can't stop yourself from conjuring up different scenarios of how the future is going to pan out now.

Sometimes you're living in Konoha, sometimes you're back in Oto, sometimes you're in an entirely new village with an entirely new life.

Every time you're standing at Sasuke-kun's side.

It's only fair, right? You've proved yourself, you've earned this place. This is where you belong. You decide you don't care where you end up or how your life goes, all you want is to be standing by his side.

Eventually Konoha's large gates come into view and you can't help but hesitate. You look at him through the corner of your eye—he isn't doing much better, the blood on his face has caked dry but the gash on his side is still shiny with fresh blood. His body is littered with nicks and scrapes and bruises. Deciding you've probably gathered up enough chakra to heal his most fatal wounds, you stop and turn for him to get access to bite you so you can heal him.

He senses what you're trying to do and instead jerks his head way at a speed that's almost offensive. You bristle with embarrassment and surprise.

"Sasuke-kun, you're—"

"Don't," he insists through clenched teeth. You let out a huff of hot breath through your nose. Obviously he's delusional or something, refusing treatment like that. You decide to carry on down the path, since at least he'll get treatment once you get into the village.

The guards positioned at the gate entrance spot you immediately and come to meet you. Their eyes widen at the sight before them—Uchiha Sasuke, Konoha's infamous traitor, has returned. They talk quietly between themselves before turning back to you and you're sure they are going to turn you away.

But then a young woman calls out to them, slightly panting from the way she sprinted over to you. She has dark hair and eyes that look like moonbeams. With a soft voice, she instructs the guards to let you all in and to inform the Hokage of Sasuke-kun's return immediately.

As you pass through the gates, you hear her tell another messenger to get two more people and you tense up at the names you hear.

_Sakura and Naruto_—you recognize their names and know the basics, enough to know that they're his former teammates and have the most history with him, aside from his late brother. You're not entirely sure why, but a disgusting taste forms in your mouth at the thought of them.

A crowd has gathered and several ninja are taking Juugo and Suigetsu, probably going to bring them into custody. You know the only reason you aren't in chakra manacles either is because you're the only thing keeping Sasuke-kun standing at this point. The crowd parts suddenly and you hear the whispers buzzing about.

A boy with tan skin and spiky blonde hair and a small girl with short pink hair slowly make their way through the crowd, their eyes wide in shock. Naruto rushes over to a silver haired man, speaking quickly with him, while Sakura stares at you both silently. Eventually she reaches a shaking hand towards you and Sasuke-kun, and you tighten your grip on him.

"Back off," you snap, glaring at her from behind your broken glasses. She blinks over at you in surprise, but says nothing. She's about to step back when suddenly Sasuke-kun lifts his head off your shoulder.

"Karin," his voice is husky and thick from not being used in the past few hours, but the two words that come out of his mouth are enough to shatter your heart into a million pieces: "Let go."

You stare up at him with an open mouth. Your cheeks flush with a combination of hurt, embarrassment and anger. For a moment you want to wrap both arms around him and force them to pry him from your grip, but before you get the chance to he's pushing away from you and reaching for her.

Sakura's knees buckle slightly, most likely from the surprise of how much weight he's leaning on her. You've heard the stories, you know of her inhuman strength. This girl who is so deceptively small could probably lift Sasuke-kun with one hand if she had to.

Your jaw clenches when you see the way Sasuke-kun tucks his face into her neck, pressing into the warmth there. Hesitantly, Sakura brings one arm around his upper back and uses the other to comb through his dark hair. Her eyes betray the pain she still feels, the lacking trust between them, but in this moment you see how truly beautiful she is. You were wrong before—she is no girl, she is a woman who is as powerful as she is beautiful. The moment he reached for her it was as if she began to radiate a shining light of hope; her eyes sparkle at him like emeralds and her perfect teeth bite down on a plump pink lip. His arms come around her—only to better hold himself up, you assure yourself—and he allows her to direct him away from the crowd.

Naruto and the man he was talking to catch up with them, following them to wherever they're headed. A Leaf nin grabs your wrists, shackling them behind you with no amount of gentleness. But you don't even mind, you can't take your eyes off the sight in front of you.

Your heart breaks at the sight of how easily Sasuke-kun just replaced you, Juugo and Suigetsu—his team, the ones who helped him defeat his brother and achieve his life goal.

But your soul is what shatters at the way Sasuke-kun's thumb strokes Sakura's arm, the trusting way he leans into her, how obviously he dropped his guard for her.

As they walk you down the street, past the stares of the Konoha villagers, you come to a startling realization. Your place was never at Sasuke-kun's side, no matter how hard you worked to get there. You were just a placeholder. There is only one woman who will stand at Sasuke-kun's side.

And you are not her.

* * *

**Ah, the angst. It's cold here and because of that I am depressed. I need spring!**

**If you're familiar with the song (by the amazingly talented Missy Higgins), then you'll recognize that this story didn't really follow the song, but I mostly liked the title for this piece.**

**Actually, I've always thought this song fit the Kikyo/Inuyasha/Kagome love-triangle perfectly. Every now and then I check YouTube to see if anyone has made an AMV for it but I haven't found any that really do their story justice. So…if anyone is talented at making videos and wants to make a new best friend, I'd love to see it done!**


End file.
